CHAPTER 1THE CITY COUNCIL.

a. The regular meeting days for the City Council of the City of Oakley shall be the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month; provided, that if a regular meeting date is a legal holiday, the meeting may be held on the preceding business day.

b. The regular meeting time of the City Council of the City of Oakley shall be 6:30 p.m.

c. The regular meeting place of the City Council of the City of Oakley shall be in the Oakley City Council Chambers, located at 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California.

If the regular meeting place is unable to accommodate the number of persons in attendance, the Council may recess the meeting to another place. If the Council anticipates the regular meeting place will be inadequate, the Council, or the Mayor in the event of an emergency, may order that the meeting be held in another place.

a. Each year during the month of December, the City Council shall appoint one of its members as Mayor. The member selected to be Mayor typically will be the member who is serving as Vice Mayor, unless the Vice Mayor is unavailable to be appointed as Mayor due to failure to be re-elected, insufficient time to dedicate to the office, or other reasons.

b. Each year during the month of December, the City Council shall appoint one of its members as Vice Mayor. The person selected as Vice Mayor shall have been a member of the Council for at least one year prior to the appointment as Vice Mayor.

c. Neither the Mayor nor the Vice Mayor serves a term of office, but rather serves in those capacities at the pleasure of the majority of the City Council.

d. It is the intent of this section to establish a rotation process so that each Council member shall have the opportunity to become either Vice Mayor or Mayor, or both.

e. The City Clerk shall establish and keep a "rotation schedule" regarding the City Council members. The member with the most continuous time of service on the Council who has not previously served as Vice Mayor and is not selected Mayor will be selected as Vice Mayor. If two or more members have equal time of continuous service, the member who received the highest number of votes at his/her election shall be selected. The other members with equal time of continuous service will have their rank on the rotation schedule determined by the number of votes that they received at their election, with the member having the higher number of votes receiving higher ranking.

f. When the Mayor completes his/her service as Mayor, he/she shall revert to the bottom of the rotation schedule.

g. If a member was appointed to the City Council, he/she shall be placed at the bottom of the rotation schedule when appointed, and shall continue up the rotation schedule thereafter in the same manner as the other members.

h. If a member voluntarily declines appointment as either Mayor or Vice Mayor, he/she shall then rotate to the bottom of the schedule.

i. The City Council may decline to appoint a member to serve as Mayor or as Vice Mayor if a majority of the City Council determines that the person has experienced or exhibited any of the following:

1) A violation of law or City policy, or has been or is being investigated for a violation of law or of policy;

2) Intemperate, rude or disparaging remarks or conduct toward the public, staff or City Council;

3) Lack of leadership or communications skills;

4) Excessive absenteeism as a Council member;

5) Any other conduct that would be considered to be unprofessional or unbecoming of the position of Mayor or Vice Mayor;

6) Determination that the person does not have the available time to assume the additional duties of Mayor or Vice Mayor.

a. Authority for Enactment. This subsection is enacted under Government Code Section 36516, which authorizes a City Council to provide by ordinance that each member of the Council may receive a salary based upon the population of the City.

b. Population of the City. The latest estimate of population of the City is 26,566.

c. Salary.

1) Amount. Under the authority of Government Code Sections 36515 and 36516.5, each member of the City Council shall receive compensation in the amount of $456.75 per month, payable at the same time and in the same manner as the salary paid to officers and employees of the City. This section shall become effective upon the assumption of office of members of the City Council elected at the November 2014 municipal election.

2) Increase in Amount. The salary provided in subsection (c)(1) of this section may be increased beyond the amount so provided. However, the increase shall be accomplished by adoption of an ordinance and shall comply with requirements of State Law.

d. Increase or Decrease in Salary Based on Population. When the Federal census or the State Department of Finance makes a new estimate of the population placing the City in a population group other than the population group used to set the salary provided for in subsection (c) of this section, the salary payable to each member of the Council may be increased or decreased, as the case may be, in order to equal the sum set forth for the applicable population group in Government Code Section 36516. However, the increase or the decrease in the salary becomes payable only after the date when one or more members of the Council become eligible for the new salary, by beginning a new term of office following the succeeding general municipal election held in the City.

e. Additional Compensation. The salary prescribed by subsection (c) of this section is exclusive of any other amount payable to a member of the Council as reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.

f. Reimbursement for Expenses. Pursuant to Government Code Section 36514.5, which provides that City Councilmembers may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties, the members of the City Council of the City of Oakley shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties, subject to the following restrictions:

1) The expense was incurred by the member of the City Council;

2) The expense was incurred in the performance of the Councilmember’s official duties;

3) The expense is a necessary expense; and

4) The reimbursement, together with any prior reimbursements in the fiscal year, will not exceed the amount included in the City’s approved annual budget for reimbursement of the Councilmember’s expenses for the fiscal year in which the expense was incurred.

g. Reimbursement Exceeding Budgeted Amount. Notwithstanding the limit placed on reimbursement in subsection (f)(4) of this section, upon request by an individual Councilmember and good cause shown, the Council may approve reimbursement in any fiscal year in excess of the amount budgeted for an individual Councilmember, provided the request for reimbursement satisfies the requirements of subsection (f)(1), (2) and (3) of this section.

a. Announcement of Vacancy and Invitation for Applications. Upon the City Clerk receiving a written resignation from a Councilmember, or upon the death of a Councilmember, or upon the determination by the City Council that a vacancy exists for some other reason, the Clerk shall post a notice of the vacancy and invite applications from Oakley residents for appointment to the vacancy. The notice shall be, at a minimum, delivered to the newspaper of general circulation which prints the City’s legal notices, to the City’s website, to all persons who have requested copies of City Council agendas, and to the consent calendar of the next City Council meeting. The notice shall provide a deadline, at least thirty (30) calendar days from the date of posting of the notice, for submission of applications. The City Clerk shall provide an application form to any person qualified for appointment who requests an application. The application forms shall generally follow the content of application forms for appointment to other City committees or commissions, and specify the applicant’s name, address, contact information, interest in the position, qualifications and other pertinent information. The application form shall state that any applications submitted are deemed to be public records and available for public inspection and copying. Nothing in this subsection or section shall interfere with the right of the City Council to, instead of making an appointment, call a special election for the purpose of filling the vacancy.

b. Consideration of Applications. The City Clerk shall post all applications received on a public City Council meeting agenda for consideration by the City Council. At that time, or at such other time as the Council may determine, the Council shall conduct public interviews of the candidates at a regular City Council meeting. The public shall have the opportunity to comment upon the candidates as a part of the agenda item. No discussion of the candidates may be had in closed session. If the City Council determines to appoint a candidate to fill a vacancy, it shall do so within sixty (60) calendar days of the effective date of the vacancy. In the case of a resignation, the effective date of the resignation shall be the date specified in the resignation for its effectiveness to occur. It shall not be necessary for the City Council to accept a resignation. An appointment will be deemed to have been made upon a motion made and seconded and having received at least three affirmative votes. Upon an appointment having been made, the successful candidate shall, at that meeting or at a subsequent regular City Council meeting, take the oath of office and be seated with the City Council. No appointment shall be deemed to have been completed and become effective until the appointee takes the oath of office.

c. Powers and Duties. Any person appointed to the City Council shall serve the unexpired term of the Councilmember who has been replaced. The appointed Councilmember shall have all of the rights, privileges and duties of an elected Councilmember, and shall be eligible for appointment to Vice Mayor and Mayor as provided in the rotation system for such appointment specified in this chapter. The City Council may appoint the appointed Councilmember to the committee assignments held by his/her predecessor, or may determine to make other committee appointments, or no committee appointments. The appointed Councilmember shall complete and file all conflict of interest disclosure forms as are required by law and shall be bound by and obey all other requirements pertaining to membership on the City Council.

The City shall address the succession of officers who head departments having duties in the maintenance of law and order or in the furnishing of public services relating to health and safety in the case of a state of war emergency, state of emergency, or local emergency in the City’s Emergency Disaster Plan. Policies and procedures outlined in the City’s Emergency Disaster Plan will be consistent with California Government Code Sections 8635-8644."